Hello Gino!

Lookin' good. Please note, that most gun truck photos show the trailer facing with the tow bar stub towards the front of the truck. This might be important, because the quad has an interrupter circut that prevents it from shooting into the truck cab...

And please excuse me that I come back to my previous posts about the mounting hardware. I mainly mean that funny rectangular frame fixed to the truck bed. Looking at the bolts holding said frame to the quad I believe those frames were still issued during the Vietnam War and looks like it was more convenient to use something readily available than welding something on your own (but I'm sure that was being done, too).

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Thanks Gary.  I just like adding lots of details, sometimes to the detriment of my sanity.  

Very nice, Gino!  I would have to say that you are the "Lawdog" of armor! 

Carry on!

Gary

I have continued work on the guntruck. I have completed construction on the truck itself.

I added chains on the fold down bedsides and the tailgate.

IMG_20240213_2044420931920×1440 148 KB

IMG_20240213_2044558581920×1440 160 KB

IMG_20240213_2045065281920×1440 141 KB

I also made the armored box that goes into the bed. I used the templates on the Star Decals sheet for the angled side pieces. I also added a radio on the rear wall, bars to hold the spares, and a pintle for an M60 MG.

IMG_20240213_2046107471920×1440 149 KB

I have completed the M55 quad gunmount as well. It is the Dynamo kit, using the 3D printed Vietnam-specific parts (dark grey). I also used the templates on the Star Decals sheet for the armor for the gun turret.

IMG_20240213_2046366021920×1440 89.3 KB

IMG_20240213_204653234_HDR1920×1440 125 KB

Here it is all mounted in th truck to see how it will look.

IMG_20240213_204557745_HDR1920×1440 153 KB

IMG_20240213_204543435_HDR1920×1440 151 KB

I still have to add some mounts for the gun turret and then a bunch of ammo cans. Then on to painting.

If you look at the below pic, you will see that the TM pic above of the mount pieces etc., are from the CCKW version, same ribbed bed.  Maybe the M35 quad guntrucks used these as well.

I am assuming that the M54 quads in Vietnam simply welded a few angle iron pieces to the added box in the bed in a similar fashion as the mount and bolted them down.  None of the other pieces seem to be there.

Gino, if you look on the second picture I posted, the lower arrow points to a kind of "pad" that belongs to the part described as "frame assembly" in the TM picture. This frame was bolted to the cargo bed and had four threaded rods with nuts (upper arrow) that angaged the "prongs" on the trailer to keep the quad from moving araound in the cargo bed. If you look closely, you can also see the spare barrel holders along the cargo bed sides. They probably didn't use the winch, just took a wrecker or a fork lift to put the quad up in the bed.

Looking forward to your next updates, have a nice day

Paweł

Thank you gents.  I have wanted to do this one for a while.  

Thanks Pawel, great pics.  I had heard there was a special mount, but not seen any pics of it.  I am not sure these were used on M54s in Vietnam though. I think the mounts were for CCKWs post WWII.  From pics I can see, the  M54s had an added armored(?) box inside the bed that the M55 sits in.  It doesn't look to have any extra parts on it.  Maybe they added some bolt plates or something to the added box, hard to tell.  Knew about the tires and tow bar already.  These will be very helpful though.

That looks very interesting. I like that idea. I am not an armor guy but will be watching this. The engineering that went on in the field always surprises me. Some of it is fantastic . 

Hello Gino! Another very cool one!

I have to agree with Cliff about your subject choices! And I would add that about half of the projects you build are things that I would like to build too, like in this case, where I have even the materials stashed appropriately.

One more thing that might help you. I don't know if you know this, but there was a special frame that was being used to fix the trailer to the cargo bed. Here's an excerpt of the old TM for the quad that even has some dimensions:

And here's the evidence it was indeed used in Vietnam. The upper arrow shows how the frame grabs by the little prongs present in all four corners of the trailer:

In this photo also it's shown how they carry the trailer wheels with them. One Vietnam vet told me some rews preferred to leave the wheels at the base, together with the trailers tow hitch, which was often removed to make more room in the truck bed. This would be the configuration of the trailer for truck mounting:

I hope this helps you - good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Looks cool Gino! I love your choice of subjects, they're a nice change of pace from the usual M4s, T-34s, and panzers. (not that I don't love those too)